Jo’s
Blog April 2016
Nothing
about me, without me.
 |
| An image of a young person from the training pack |
This month I am delighted to launch ‘Nothing About Me,
Without Me,’ a teaching pack that is designed to support teaching and learning
about disability equality through PSHE education in primary and secondary
schools. It is supported by locally developed DVDs and a positive images
photo-pack.
The teaching pack and the films are hosted on the Carousel: http://www.carousel.org.uk/nothing-about-me-without-me/
I would like to thank all the children, young people,
schools and organisations that have contributed to this and I look forward to
hearing feedback from schools on its implementation.
Be
The Change Event
Students from secondary
schools in Brighton & Hove learnt how to be heroes as role models for
younger students at an event this month at the AMEX Community Stadium. http://www.givingtimes.co.uk/sussex-school-students-learn-how-to-be-heroes-with-business-mentors/ Almost 90 students aged 13-14 from
10 local secondary schools were joined by a similar number of 10 and 11 year
olds from Balfour Primary, Patcham Junior and West Hove Junior schools as part
of the inspirational ‘Be the Change’ programme. Facilitated by LoveLocalJobs.com and social enterprise humanutopia, along with mentors
from local businesses, education and the public sector, ‘Be the Change’ helps
young people to fulfill their potential and improve their life chances. The secondary schools involved in the programme from Brighton
& Hove are Cardinal Newman, Dorothy Stringer, Hove Park, Longhill, PACA,
BACA, Varndean, Patcham High and Blatchington Mill School.
Gary Shilladay,
Head of Year 9 at Dorothy Stringer said, ‘If
only every child in my school could be involved and be a part of this! A
community-changing and inspirational message that will change lives. Be the
Change gives the students motivation, direction and provokes positive thought.
I look forward to seeing the long term benefits for the students involved and
just wish I could be more involved.’
 |
| Students from Patcham High and Dorothy Stringer |
Primary Admissions
It has been a very busy month
for the admissions team and an anxious time for parents waiting for their
primary school place. However nearly 88% of Brighton & Hove
families applying for reception age school places in September 2016 have been
offered their first choice school. Overall, more than 97% have been allocated
one of their preferred schools this year. I’m delighted that we’ve been able to
offer the vast majority of local families their first choice school. There has
been a 1.4% improvement in pupils receiving one of their preferred choices of
schools this year and a 1.7% reduction in pupils being directed to a school
which they had not chosen. I’m sure you will agree this is good news!
There have been three OfSTED inspections so far in April
however none of the reports have yet been published: Jeanne Saunders Centre and
Easthill Park (PRESENS service), Benfield Primary School and Bevendean Primary
School. I look forward to hearing the results of these inspections and will
feedback in next month’s blog.
We are pleased to announce that Cherry Tree Nursery report has been published and they have been judged outstanding.
“There is an
exceptionally good level of high qualified staff. Staff are extremely skilled in teaching and
extending children’s learning. Children make excellent progress.”
Another
school which has shown improvement is Longhill High School and their report has been published. Despite remaining as requires improvement,
“there is much expertise within the teaching staff which generates
enthusiasm for learning in many pupils”
“almost all pupils proceed into further education, employment or training
– a higher proportion than seen nationally”
“ the work to promote pupils’ personal development
and welfare is good and the quality of care for pupils is strong, whatever
their learning or personal needs”
Well done Longhill
Apprenticeship
placement
The Post 16
Learning & Skills Team have been working closely with the apprenticeship
team within the city council . Georgia Easteal is one of the apprentices and
provided an insight into her new role as an apprentice which I hope you will
enjoy to read;
“My name is Georgia Easteal, I’m 16 and this
apprenticeship placement is the first type of work I’ve ever done. I did a lot
of research during year 11 on which education path I would go down after
leaving school. I was unsure which career I was interested in and I didn’t want
to go to college for two years and finish with qualifications that would not
help me get the job I wanted.
I went to Longhill High School,
who provided information on apprenticeships and we were also visited by the
apprentice ambassadors. As I have come straight from school and this
apprenticeship placement is my first type of work I’ve ever done, it was quite
daunting. All my teachers were very supportive and my PSHE teacher once said to
me “you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it” which gave me
confidence. I work in Transport Planning and work on different projects all
around the city, working alongside teams including; Procurement, Legal,
Branding and Marketing, Graphic design, Finance and many more, this has given
me so much variety in my job.
I am also one of the Apprentice
Ambassadors which involves visiting schools, colleges and career fairs to
promote career opportunities and provide information on apprenticeships. My
apprenticeship has given me essential life skills that will help me in any
future employment or job interview and is something that cannot be taught in
college or university, this is one of the reasons why I became an ambassador.
I’m so glad I decided to do an
apprenticeship as it has given me a sense of responsibility and along with
earning my own money, knowing that my work is helping the residents of Brighton
& Hove is a reward in itself.”
Thank you
Georgia and it’s great to have you on-board.
Brighton
& Hove Education Partnership future developments
 |
| One of the slides from the event. |
We facilitated a productive and forward thinking event on
26th April with our Head Teachers, college principals and wider partners
discussing the White Paper and future developments of our education partnership.
The turnout was fantastic with representatives from all phases of education
from early years through to post sixteen provision and university, we were
joined by our partners from the Diocese and the Aldridge Foundation.
It was an opportunity to celebrate the work of our strong
family of Brighton & Hove schools and education provision. It was a chance
for the Local Authority to outline its response to the White Paper and its
vision for our Education Partnership going forward. There was a real
appreciation from all of the challenges the education sector currently faces
and the opportunity to take collective responsibility for shaping the future.
We discussed and explored different models and organisational structures and how these might support Brighton & Hove’s vision and values going
forward. We discussed the need for the
continual development of effective working in the clusters and
partnerships that exist across the city and the possibility of the creation of an overarching
legal entity in the form of a trust company or cooperation including our
schools, the council and other education partners.
The Local Authority provided a strong message of its
commitment to ensuring that education and schools remain central to fulfilling
the ambitions of children and young people and expressed its determination to continue to
offer schools and wider education partners the best levels of support.
There was a clear message that we needed to continue to
develop and grow our successful education partnerships we have in place across
the city with an ongoing focus on improved outcomes for children and young
people to ensure that no child is left behind. There was a real desire to keep
the strong family of schools and education provision working together and
continually improving.
There was a lot of lively debate and agreement to work
together to develop our city approach further, whilst keeping a close eye on national developments
in relation to the White Paper.
The Music & Arts Supporting Wellbeing
Our Music & Arts service have been working with young
people in eight of the city’s schools to co-develop and deliver a range of
creative programmes focused on achieving not only artistic but also wellbeing
outcomes. Children and young people from four secondary and four primary
schools have taken part in programmes that explore different aspects of
wellbeing including resilience; emotional regulation; the Five Ways to
Wellbeing; and the development of alternative coping mechanisms through
activities including song-writing, sculpture, music technology and exploration
of heritage.
This wellbeing
programme includes both targeted and universal models, working closely with
vulnerable young people who are demonstrating specific ‘unhealthy’ behaviours
(e.g. self-harm) but also with larger groups to explore and promote the
components of good mental health for everyone. This work also brings together
professionals from different settings to create unique, positive experiences
for the young people that use the power of creative and cultural engagement to
improve their sense of wellbeing. If you are interested in finding out more
about the innovative work we are doing, please contact Peter Chivers (Peter.Chivers@brighton-hove.gov.uk)
Visit
to the Early Explorers Pre-School Setting
It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to visit the
Early Explorers and spend the morning with Alison Wakeford (Education Manager
of Early Explorers), the children and staff, and also shadow Teresa Darby and
Penny Macey from PRESENS as well as
meeting with some parents.
The education and care of the children which I observed
was outstanding with clear evidence of children making progress and having fun
in a positive environment. It was so important for me to see, first hand, how
the PRESENS team support Alison and
the team to ensure the best outcomes for the children.
Secondary
Admissions
Richard Barker and I have been busy facilitating twenty
four public engagements across the city as part of the reviews. These have been
well attended by parents, carers and colleagues from education and schools and
have provided us with a range of feedback about the potential admissions
models. It’s been a privilege to meet so
many parents and hear their views and issues related to that very important
decision they make regarding transfer to secondary school. We have also been engaging with children and young people in a serious of focus groups. The engagement phase finishes on the 1st May and then there will be a period of reflection,
gathering in all the comments and feedback before moving forward with more firm
proposals for the final consultation. Thank you to everyone who has
participated in this first phase.
 |
| Richard Barker engaging with children in Whitehawk |
Bilingual Primary School
 |
| Children dancing Flamenco |
I was pleased to be invited to the official opening
ceremony of the Bilingual Primary School, Brighton & Hove. It was wonderful
to see the brand new school and be shown around and greeted in Spanish by the
children. Wendy King (the Headteacher) talked with passion about her vision for
the school where they promote the ‘love
of learning through language’. She emphasised the importance of being part
of the family of schools in the city working closely with the Local Authority
and thanked those parents who established the school from the start to what it
is today. The ceremony was creative and fun with the children doing amazing
displays of Flamenco dancing and singing in Spanish.
Best wishes,
Jo
Jo
Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter
@JoMLyons
